After being told by doctors that her PCOS was incurable, Stephanie Jeffs took matters into her own hands by radically changing her diet, which naturally cured her PCOS and resulted in her losing over 9 stone and feeling great in the process. Now a raw food nutritionist, Stephanie Jeffs talks to us about the benefits of eating raw, how to take steps towards a better diet and her top tips for healthy living.

Smooth, clear, radiant skin is the holy grail of beauty and yet it can often be difficult to achieve. Pollution, a poor diet, smoking, bad skincare habits, dehydration and stress are some of the leading factors that can take their toll on your skin, and the resulting effects can include dryness, sensitivity, oiliness, spots, wrinkles, or a dull, lacklustre complexion.

But never fear; it is easier than you think to get better skin, as long as you stay committed. Here are our top 5 tips for healthier, happier skin.

Incorporate this delicious smoothie recipe into your daily diet to experience a healthy glowing complexion from within. The end result not only looks and tastes yum, but is going to do wonders for your skin, hair and nails.

Spending a fortune on face cream? Beauty starts from within, meaning your diet could have a greater influence on the ageing process than what you’re slathering onto your skin. Daily exposure to environmental toxins, UV rays and stress all speed up the onset of fine lines, but fortunately loading your plate with healthy foods like fruits and vegetables which are packed with natural anti-ageing antioxidants keeps your skin happy and fights the signs of ageing.

Whilst many of us tend to turn to our favourite moisturiser, make-up, hair and nail care products, and of course the trusted concealer, to create a flawless look, an increasing number of women are thinking first of what they are feeding their bodies. What you feed your skin, hair and nails from the inside is just as important as what you put on the outside. If our diet lacks the key nutrients our skin, hair and nails rely upon to look their best, this is going to show on the outside.

Choosing a low-fat dressing for your salad might help with keeping the calories down but a recent study suggests that you could be missing out on other health benefits. The study, undertaken by Iowa State University, involved feeding 29 people salads dressed with butter, high in saturated fat, canola oil for monounsaturated fat, and corn oil for polyunsaturated fat. Each salad had 3g, 8g or 20g of fat.

Following on from the post; The Truth about Low-Fat Salad Dressings, here is a tasty, quick and nutritious salad recipe, bursting with flavour that offers a good source of protein and those all-important, skin loving essential fats omega 3, 6 & 9. This recipe is great eaten at lunch or as light dinner.